NIKKE, when the stars bloom

Without waiting for Rabi to reply, Anis, whose right leg was severely injured, suddenly raised her head and stared at Christine's elegant and charming face. She was like a frightened cat, and she excitedly and seriously rejected Christine's proposal.

"Don't even think about it! Do you hear me, you snob?

Do you want me to say it again? Don’t even think about it.”

Unfortunately, the tall woman named Christine ignored the angry kitten and continued to look at the commander of Nikki's team - Rabi.

"Captain, there are more than fifty Letchers chasing us. We can't retreat at Anis's limping speed. We can't sacrifice the entire team just for her."

"But the team cannot be without artillerymen."

After inserting the magazine into the slot of the rifle, Lavi, who was hiding behind the bunker, calmly gave Christine the answer she least wanted to hear.

"Without Anis's heavy firepower cover, we will lose the ability to destroy the terrain, Christine, you should be very clear about this."

Christine had expected Rabbi's answer, but even so, she still frowned in dissatisfaction and turned her head to look at Anis.

"We are Nikki, who can reconstruct her body by simply recycling her brain.

"Anis, what are you afraid of? Do you think we're going to abandon you along the way?"

"Huh?! Christine, that's like a ticket scalper saying his tickets are the cheapest in the scalper circle."

The chestnut-haired girl did not hide the contempt in her eyes and said, "Do you believe it yourself, Christine?"

"Anis, even if you don't believe me, please make one thing clear to me. I alone have no right to discard your brain."

The accusations and suspicions raised by her teammates made Christine's face a little gloomy.

"Why don't we change the angle? Does your willful behavior indirectly put your teammates in danger?"

"According to this logic, your proposal has put me directly in danger!"

Anis wanted to say something, but her shoulder was suddenly patted by a big hand.

The last member of the team, Lolph, who was in charge of close combat, walked out from behind the chestnut-haired girl and said in a bad tone:

"Hey, if you're scared, just fly away quietly. Stop nagging me. It's annoying me."

She just finished speaking.

Christine, whose face originally looked bad, seemed to be stimulated by something very strong. In an instant, her scarlet pupils shrank into dangerous snake-like shapes.

"You are accustomed to being treated like a dog. How about this? You, Lorfu, lead away all the Letchers, and I will carry Anis and Lapi and retreat together."

"Ha, why should I cover your retreat?" The even more irritable Lolfu also shrank her pupils in the same way, bared her fangs, and sneered disdainfully:

"Kristen, you are a piece of trash who can abandon your teammates at any time. Are you worthy of this?"

"What did you say, you bitch..."

"Everyone keep quiet!"

The quarrel between the two was interrupted calmly by Rabi.

"Lorfu takes Anis to retreat from the northwest. Christine and I will be responsible for attracting Letcher's attention, and then we will retreat from the northeast. Everyone will gather at the terminus of Subway Line 3 in the southern part of K- District."

Seeing the captain's words, Lolph and Christine, who were humanoid combat weapons, were forced to suppress their inner anger. They glared at each other and prepared to carry out their missions.

However, just as Lolfe was about to carry Anis on her back...

boom! ! !

On the life-size billboard about ten meters in front of the four people, an unknown celebrity spokesperson with a smile on his face had his crotch ruthlessly pierced by an armor-piercing bullet.

"careful!"

Faced with this unexpected change, Christine, who reacted the fastest, flicked the tactical belt around her waist and pulled out a tactical grenade used to interfere with infrared detection.

Then, just as she was about to throw the tactical grenade behind her, her own reason urgently stopped her from taking action.

and many more……

Judging from the black hole on the celebrity's crotch, the caliber of this bullet doesn't look like Letcher's industrial style, but more like a product of the Ark military.

Could it be... that he is one of us?

Just as doubts crept into Christine's mind, she heard gunshots again. On the billboard, the celebrity's crotch was once again cruelly shot with a bullet hole.

Both shots were fired at a position that posed no threat. It was obvious that the other party was using bullets to show goodwill to their team.

If Christine could think of it, how could the thoughtful Rabi not think of it?

She only said to the operator of the Ark far below:

"What other teams are there in Region K?"

"... Rabbi, based on my current authority, there are no other teams staying in Area K except you, but it is not ruled out that there are teams with a high level of confidentiality still secretly carrying out missions in Area K.

By the way, I have some news that might be useful to you.

Four days ago, an ordinary team numbered 055-A lost contact in Area K. Please note that they are neither missing nor dead.

This is the only team I can find that might shoot at you."

"Four days ago?"

Hearing the information given by the operator, Rabbi couldn't help but show a hint of surprise in his bright red eyes.

An ordinary team that can survive on the ground after losing contact for four days?

How did you do it?

After pursing his lips slightly, Rabbi made up his mind and stood up, turning back to look at the approximate location where the sniper shot...

……

……

"This silly girl! Why are you still looking at me?!"

In the office building, Phoenix, who had been working hard, was almost choked with anger when he saw Rabi stand up and look back.

At this moment, in his sea of ​​consciousness, to the south of the plane radar responsible for large-scale detection, there was a huge red dot slowly moving towards the north.

The desperate and helpless man could only raise his voice, trying to make his voice reach the ears of the four silly girls four hundred meters away.

"run--!!!"

"There's a big one coming!!!"

Chapter 3: The Vanguard Force That Should Not Exist

To be honest, Phoenix doesn't really want Lavi and the others to run to him now.

He saw Anis's leg injury.

If the other party joins up with them, it will undoubtedly be a further blow to the entire team.

But there is no way, because one of Nikki's core duties is to protect the commander.

Therefore, no matter how much he tried to persuade her, Rabi still resolutely brought her members to the office building and successfully joined him.

Looking at the four charming women in front of him, someone leaned against the table with mixed feelings and said in his extremely hoarse voice due to lack of water and shouting:

"Commander of Unit 055-A...Phoenix. Which unit are you from?"

"Vanguard troops, commander."

Familiar tone, familiar voice, Rabbi is still the same Rabbi. She saluted the commander solemnly, and then introduced herself:

"Lavi, captain of the vanguard."

Vanguard troops?

Where did the vanguard troops come from? Shouldn’t it be the 04-F troops?

For a moment, Phoenix thought he had remembered the plot incorrectly, but soon, an inspiration suddenly appeared in his mind like lightning.

Assuming that he did not exist, the vanguard troops would be forced to continue retreating northward due to the wounded and Letcher's pursuit.

However, there are also nearly twenty Letchers lurking in various corners in the north. If Lavi and the others choose to move north, they will be surrounded by seventy or eighty Letchers.

In reality, being surrounded by the enemy is a big taboo, not to mention an encirclement in a street fighting environment, where there may be gunfire everywhere, and you may not even know how you will die before you die.

Thinking of this, Phoenix's gaze shifted to Christine and Lorraine, who had never appeared in the game plot.

they……

There is a high probability that he will be sacrificed during this retreat.

Only if they died, and the cause of their death could not satisfy the Ark's power structure, and even caused dissatisfaction among many people, would Labi and Anis be demoted to a team like 04-F, which could be seen at a glance as an ordinary team.

You have to know that non-mass-produced Nikki are high-end and top-level combat forces for the Ark, and under normal circumstances they will not be sent to ordinary teams to be used by useless commanders.

Even Marian, who appeared at the beginning of the story, was only responsible for transporting the "players" to the 04-F unit whose commander had just died. They clearly had a subordinate high-level unit - the Silver Spear Unit.

"It's an honor to meet you, Commander."

Just as someone was staring at the woman in a somewhat impolite manner, Christine met Phoenix's gaze and said with a smile, "I'm Christine, a scout in the vanguard force."

On the other side, seeing this, the nearly two-meter-tall, hot girl named Lorfu spoke up too.

"The vanguard's breakthrough man, Lorfu."

In response, Phoenix nodded and gave a friendly smile to Anis who remained silent.

“I’m glad to meet you here.”

However, unexpectedly, the chestnut-haired girl, who was always known for her talkativeness, did not say much this time. Instead, she stood behind Rabi, intentionally or unintentionally blocking her injured right leg.

It is a consensus among the Nikkis that on the battlefield, Nikki, whose mobility is severely impaired, can easily be abandoned by the commander.

But Anis didn't want to be abandoned, didn't want to be beheaded, and didn't want to die.

So she chose to shut up her nagging mouth, trying to weaken her presence in the team.

Unfortunately, the girl did not realize the serious problem, or she was not sensitive enough in this regard.

She had never seriously thought about how attractive her sexy dress and broad mind were to the opposite sex.

Either a certain commander was suffering from a splitting headache due to lack of water, or everyone was facing a life-threatening situation.

His pair of tourmaline eyes, like a magnet, would probably be attracted to Anis's surging chest from time to time.

"Have you been marked by Letcher?"

Putting aside the unnecessary thoughts, the man took a deep breath and said hoarsely:

"I'm familiar with this area. If you haven't been marked by Letcher, I can take you to hide."

"Then why don't you hide yourself?"

As the saying goes, "It is difficult to change one's nature, even if it means changing the country." After hearing the commander's words, Anis immediately discovered the logical loophole in it.

If he was sure he could avoid Letcher's search, why would this man hide in an unsafe office building?

"Because I'm out of supplies."

Phoenix staggered to Lolfe's side and said with a wry smile:

“I have been dehydrated for a day and a half and have done high-intensity exercise. If I don’t replenish my body fluids, I will not survive until tomorrow.

The original plan was to try our luck today and see if we could run into a transport plane or other commander teams..."

After a pause, the man raised his hand and continued, "Love will carry me, Christine will carry Anis, and now follow my instructions and move.

By the way, Rabbi, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

"No member of the vanguard force has been marked, Commander." Rabi instinctively straightened his back. "I have informed the Ark Intelligence Department of your situation. The operator is contacting the military to request support..."

"Got it. Let's go first. The situation is very urgent now. We can talk about the rescue after we get away from Letcher."

As Phoenix spoke, he stretched his forearm towards Lolph's neck, indicating that she should understand the height difference between them.

Unexpectedly, the tall woman grinned, pulled the strap of the shotgun in front of her, freed her hands and picked him up like a princess.

"Commander, if you have a headache due to lack of water, you'd be more comfortable if you hold me."

"..."

Feeling the wonderful waves coming from his left arm and the sense of stability from his back and legs, Phoenix looked at Lolph's heroic face helplessly and finally sighed.